The Nutcracker: Reign of the Rats
by Mable
Summary: After walking in on a battle in her own home, Seven is whisked into a world of candy that is slowly being corrupted by the same creatures that were warring under her tree. As such she must take on a journey with a single companion to stop the King Rat and find the Nutcracker before all hope is lost.


**Mable: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! This is a Stitchpunk fic I wrote for Christmas, finished in about three days so I sort of rushed and you can see it at times. I think it managed to pull itself through pretty well, though, or well enough. I don't own the Nutcracker or 9. Enjoy!**

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_**The Nutcracker: Reign of the Rats**_

There was nothing to make someone feel more different than being adopted. Seven knew this very well, but knew it especially well as she began to age into a young woman. Not that One and Two weren't good to her. They certainly were, but both had their quirks and, more importantly, neither were woman. As such, it was hard for her to grow into a 'proper young lady', as One put it so well, and was constantly finding herself instead at the balance between wanting to simply be between genders and being stuck trying to be a lady.

That being said, Seven didn't have a problem being ladylike. She'd force herself into tight dresses with weaved corsets and sit upon daintily to herself during parties and such. Parties such as tonight where One and Two had many guests over to visit and such. Being that One was Leader of Luxembourg he certainly knew many people. If Seven was to be honest, there was only one who she was waiting for, though. She was waiting for One's father, her Grandfather, to appear because he was truly the embodiment of Christmas joy.

Julius was a kindly gentleman and Scientist who had done many things. Every Christmas in her youth Julius had appeared and given her a handmade doll. He had brought her countless porcelain dolls with beautiful dresses and ragdolls with soft forms and she had never lost one, keeping them safe and displayed in her own room. Even though she was getting older, and was technically a doll herself, she still couldn't wait to see what her grandfather had brought her this year. Anything was better than the whirlwind of suitors who seemed to always pop up around the holidays.

Seven wasn't interested, but it couldn't matter if she was. Every time a male came a courting One would suddenly appear and usher the male to the door. Discreetly forcing them out the door and into the cold night outside. It was actually a bit amusing and yet annoying at the same time. Half in this thought, while knowing yet another young man in the room looking to her, she heard a voice chime up beside her. "There's nobody else my age." The small voice chimed up and she looked to her side to see Twenty-One.

Twenty-One was One and Two's biological child. He was not even half her age and a sweet child. Now he had a firm pout on his face and a disturbed look, she was not sure if this was only from the lack of children or from Two telling him to keep his vest clean. It wasn't much of an order, but Twenty-One didn't like making his parents upset, and tried much too hard to be the good boy. He looked remarkably like One as he pouted and repeated, "There's nothing to do and the lady keeps pinching my cheeks."

"Which one?" She asked and he huffed, "Both of them." The female chuckled a bit, "No, I meant which lady?" He quickly pointed into the dining room before retracted his hand once again, "The _wide_ lady in pink." Someone's overblown aunt or grandmother, no doubt, but Seven couldn't recognize her from the description alone. She smiled a little bit, "You could sit with me." Twenty-One nodded, "Yes please. They keep thinking because I'm little that they can poke at me." He was certainly as smart as his parents and reached up to her.

She pulled him into her lap and he rested against her. They were as close as siblings could be even though she was adopted, mostly because she was adopted before he was born. Thankfully her early jealousy subsided once she realized how much she enjoyed having a small baby in the house. Even as Seven wasn't incredibly feminine, at that age she had enjoyed taking care of the baby, and still to this day loved doing so with the child. The second that Julius appeared, though, she went abruptly ignored and Twenty-One nearly leapt from her grasp. "Grampa!"

Seven stood, brushing her dress down to fix the wrinkles, and approached him. Her Grandfather gave them both hearty embraces. "Seven, look how tall you have gotten." He pointed out in his soft voice, "My goodness. You are becoming a woman faster than I ever expected." She smiled shyly at the comment before being interrupted by Twenty-One, "Did you bring us something?" he asked in excitement and the older male chuckled a bit, "I may have brought you something." Indeed, Seven noticed something tucked in his grasp.

Three presents, but he handed over two of them to them, one to each. Twenty-One immediately began to tear at the paper so Seven spoke up, "Twenty-One?" The boy stopped, looked up to her, then understood and looked to his Grandfather, "Can I open it now? It's almost Christmas." He again gave a warm smile, "Of course, of course." The boy promptly went back to ripping up the paper and Seven decided to open hers as well, though not nearly as sloppily, trying to make as little mess as possible.

The Stitchpunk boy opened to reveal a tin box and opened the box before gasping in surprise. "They're little men!" He cried out in delight and the older male nodded, "A set of tin soldiers. Every boy deserves one and I think you are certainly old enough to have them." Twenty-One gave a wide smile, "Thank you Grandpa!" Then Seven opened her box and was delighted as well. It was another porcelain doll. It had red yarn hair pulled back into a bun or ponytail, a beautiful tan dress that tightly hugged the body and splayed out at the feet with a wide collar and trumpet sleeves, and red thread that looked like it sewed its lips closed.

"She's beautiful." Seven praised and Julius seemed happy. "I am glad to hear you like her. I knew she was different than any of the others I had gotten you in the past." Seven smiled and was absolutely pleased with the doll. The clock started to chime and Julius decided to hurry, judging by the clock that neither the party nor Twenty-One would be going on much longer. "I brought something else for you both. It is more… of a visual treasure, but I saw it and thought you would both enjoy." He showed the box, unwrapped, and slowly opened it to reveal what was inside.

"What is it?" Twenty-One asked in confusion and Julius explained, "This is a nutcracker." Twenty-One blinked, "What does it do?" Seven leaned down, "I'd say it cracks nuts." She looked into the box and reached in to lift it, looking over the painted wood, "He's in wonderful condition." He certainly was, painted in lovely reds and golds, smooth and delightful, and Twenty-One reached up. "Can I hold him?" she nodded, "Alright, but be very careful." Julius was suddenly called aside by One and spoke to his Grandchildren, "I am going to speak to your father for a bit. Please enjoy your gifts."

"We will." Seven reassured before he left. That was when she heard a small thunk and a gasp. Looking down, Seven gasped. The Nutcracker was now lying on the floor and Twenty-One was staring at it. Apparently he was trying to carry both the Nutcracker and the tin soldiers at the same time and ended up dropping the former. Seven exhaled, a bit exasperated, but bent down and lifted the wooden doll. Twenty-One spoke up, "I didn't mean to. Is he broken?" She tucked the other box under her arm and checked the Nutcracker.

Its jaw refused to open now even though it was clearly open before. She gave the male a reassuring look, "I can fix him. Just be more careful. You shouldn't have tried to carry both at once." The small looked discouraged from the scolding, but nodded in agreement. That was when Two approached, "I see that you're both being spoiled again." He playfully remarked and Twenty-One looked fearful; Seven knew why. "It's getting late, Twenty-One. Time for bed." The little male made a noise of disturbance, but agreed, "Okay. But nobody else is going to sleep."

"They are already starting to leave and head home." Two explained, "But as for you, off to bed. Or else Santa may notice you're awake and leave the presents out in the snow instead of under the tree." The Stitchpunk gawked in terror, "Oh no! I didn't know he'd do that!" The Inventor then noticed his gift, "How about we put that under the tree so that you'll find it tomorrow morning?" Twenty-One nodded and wandered off to do so. Two looked to Seven's, "I could take yours as well. What is that?"

Seven showed him the Nutcracker, "Grandfather brought it for both of us, but it was dropped. I think I can fix it pretty quickly." She then handed the other doll open, "I guess since Twenty-One's willing to do it, could you put it under the tree?" Two nodded, "Certainly. If you need help with that then just tell me." Then he left Seven to her work. She sat down on the chair once again and began to work at the Nutcracker's mouth. Soon the Stitchpunk partygoers left the home, Twenty-One was taken to bed and Julius was given the guest room, and One and Two checked on Seven before heading to bed themselves.

Seven managed to fix the Nutcracker to its normal state and decided to head to bed herself. She decided that she'd leave the Nutcracker under the tree as well so that Twenty-One would see it in the morning and be pleased that it wasn't permanently broken. She glanced at the Grandfather clock at the bottom of the grand staircase and could see that it was nearly Midnight. "I should head to bed. Big day tomorrow." Indeed, Two, One, and her would be forced to spend hours cleaning up wrapping paper after the tornado known as 'Twenty-One' hit the gifts.

She crossed into the sitting room that had been cleaned out to fit the tree in, struggling to loosen the tight collar around her neck. Then she looked at the tree itself. It was grand; towering as tall as the ceiling and decorated with garland, ornaments, and even candles. It was a breathtaking sight and she stared up at the mighty decoration in the room. She made herself snap out of her trance and placed the Nutcracker under the tree in the very front. She then hurried up to her room to get some much needed respite.

However Seven's night didn't end there.

She awoke at Midnight on the dot from the sound of something bumbling around in the first floor beneath her room. She could tell it was from the room where the tree was and immediately assumed that Twenty-One was sneaking down to get gifts early. She smiled a little and tiredly climbed out of bed with the hope that she could quickly usher him to bed. She wasn't sure whether he planned to wait for Santa Claus all night, but from the noises in the room it could have been anything. It sounded like the room was nearly filled to the brim.

She wandered down the steps and to the room itself, opening the door before freezing solid. What was inside was not what she expected at all. It was a battlefield across the wooden floor underneath the glow of the tree. It was certainly bizarre, especially with the fighting creatures she could see. The tin soldiers that she was sure belonged to Twenty-One were fighting against large, clockwork creatures that looked like rats, except quite a bit nastier with long fangs, sharp swords and knives, and glowing, red eyes.

The soldiers weren't doing too well and one by one began to fall to the floor unresponsive. Seven watched as only one remained in the end; the Nutcracker. It was fighting a larger rat that nearly stood twice the size of the others. It was clearly getting an advantage and Seven was alarmed. It didn't help that the rats no clearly noticed her and were starting to approach. Unfortunately for them, Seven isn't prepared to let them do anything to her, and after kicking the closest one nearly across the room the others started to back off.

Quickly out of reflex she looked for something to use to defend herself and settled on a letter opener on the near the door. Then she gained on the large rat, going to impale the creature before it could hurt the Nutcracker, but then something went wrong.

Seven wasn't exactly sure what occurred but just remembered that everything went black. The last thing she registered was the sound of scuttling claws against wood.

When she awoke, Seven was no longer in her home, and instead was lying on something incredibly cold. She could hear a soft voice speaking nearby, "Miss, are you alright?" Seven slowly opened her optics and looked up only to see, too much confusion, a Stitchpunk above her. However, it looked exactly like the doll she had gotten from her Grandfather. She blinked a bit and the doll smiled, "Oh good, you're awake! I thought maybe you got hurt back there."

"What?" She managed to find her voice and pushed herself up only to recognize the texture of the material beneath her. Looking down she could see thick, white snow and then her eyes scanned the surroundings. There were barren trees all around that here also covered in both snow and icicles. It would be breathtaking if Seven wasn't so confused. Once she managed to stand she confronted the doll, "What's going on? Why are- Well, for one, why are you a…" She trailed off and the doll softly spoke.

"I know you're probably confused. That's okay, I'll explain everything, but…" She looked around, "But let's start walking first. He'll certainly be looking for you." The Doll wrapped her arms around Seven's and began to lead her through the snow. Seven could feel her sharp fingers on her arm and was more than a little uncomfortable. "So… What exactly happened and… And were you always alive." The Doll tilted her head, "Well, I always remember being alive well enough. You probably notice this isn't your home."

"I do." Seven murmured as she looked up at the sky that was covered in thick clouds of a lavender hue. It was beautiful, but not exactly natural, and even the icicles on the trees were noticed to be in odd swirls and designs. "Well that's because this is a much different world. We can only go through on Midnight of Christmas and that's when the King of Rats tries to take over your world. The Prince was able to go through just in time to stop him, but the soldiers were nothing against the Rats. This time, they failed."

Seven looked disturbed and the Doll gave her a reassuring touch on the shoulder, "But then you came. Because you're one of that world I guess you being there pushed them all back through to hear. Believe me, that's definitely a good thing, because they would've gotten incredibly power, well I'm guessing they would have. Unfortunately, now, you're here too… And things aren't going well around here." She looked forward fearfully and continued to lead Seven. "We better be quiet. We're coming up on the battlefield."

Just as she said that, they wandered past the grove of trees and into an open area where the view was less than pleasant. Tin soldiers, now more Stitchpunk like, laid about everywhere. Their injuries couldn't be seen, but it was obvious that they were not getting up. Seven stared at the chaos and remembered the battle in the living room. _"Maybe they were half between worlds? That's why I could see them… Even if the battle was here…" _It was unbelievable, but Seven wouldn't doubt her optics and turned to the doll. "Why would the rats do this?" She gestured to the battlefield, "All of this?"

"They want to rule over the kingdom." The Doll responded simply, "They're quite power hungry." The white Stitchpunk looked back to the warzone, "I can see…. But where are we going?" The Doll pointed across the warzone, "In that direction is the Kingdom. We need to get you to the Prince so that he can send you home again before the King gets ahold of you." Honestly, Seven didn't want to be in the clutch of the Rats, and so she was willing to go to the Kingdom with the Doll.

They began to quietly cross the battlefield and Seven tried to make conversation, "What's your name?" The Doll paused, "I don't have one." Seven blinked and looked over, "You don't have one? But you just said that you've been alive." The other female simply responded, "I have, but not for very long. I just woke up here. Nobody's really good with names so I haven't needed to go by one." To lighten the mood, and add some clarity, Seven started to go through ideas for names.

"What sort of name would you like?" She asked pleasantly and the Doll thought, "Something that… Something that is sweet I guess." An odd offer and Seven surprisingly managed to immediately think of a list of sweets, "I'm not sure what sweets you have here, but at home, at my world I guess, we have quite a few. I guess you'd want something Christmas oriented." She tried to ignore the fact that she was stepping around bodies and shot a close one a sympathetic look; hoping that in this world they would somehow come back to life.

"There would be… peppermints and candy canes, taffy, caramel, sugarplums, those odd chocolates that One gets imported, I think from Belgium…" Noticing her distress at the scene, the Doll chimed up, "Well… I sort of like that one." Seven raised a brow, "Belgium?" There was a playful smile, "No, no. You see, we have peppermints and caramel here… Though we certainly don't eat them… Strangely enough… But I've never heard of Sugarplums. Call me that, I like that."

If she liked it that much then Seven wouldn't argue, "Well then, Sugarplum, lead the way." The Doll, now known as Sugarplum, smiled so wide that the stitches on her mouth stretched as well. Then hurried along, almost blissfully ignoring the warzone around them, and Seven wondered exactly how familiar war was to this world. How it could be so common that the inhabitants were barely bothered at such. She shook the thought away before following along. They began to walk for a seemingly endless amount of time.

The world began to change around them slowly. Eventually, Seven started to see a difference it the surroundings, or mostly the road itself changed from a mere indention in the snow to actually being paved. It was not paved with stones, though, it was paved with what looked like candy. To be precise, it looked like the square pieces of taffy that Two would purchase around Christmas time that tasted like Peppermints and cherries. From the softness of the texture Seven as somewhat thinking that maybe it wasn't simply pained stones that she stepped upon.

The white world seemed to be slowly changing into candy. The sky she now recognized as having clouds like cotton candy, though purple like it was planning to rain soon. Even the trees began to morph from snow covered to actually made of candy canes. One would assume that candy cane trees would be whimsical and colorful. That being said, these trees managed to actually look threatening, with gnarled and twisted branches that ended in a sharp point. It eventually got to the point that it completely blocked the road.

"Unless we plan to sacrifice our fabric, we're going to have to find another way." Seven suggested as she looked around the area. Sugarplum let out a soft inhale, "Oh, yes, here." The pale female turned to suddenly have something pushed into her hands and looked down to see the letter opener from before. Except now it was much larger and sharper, like a spear. She asked with a small bit of teasing, "You've been carrying this the entire time?" Sugarplum shrugged a bit, "I forgot."

"Well, this will help?" Seven suggested before looking around, "But we might do better trying to go around this large tangle. Come on." She bluntly went off the path and started to circle the trees only to notice she wasn't being followed. She looked back, "Sugarplum?" The doll tapped her needle tipped fingers together, "Are… Are you sure? There could be some bad things in the woods." Seven calmly responded, "I don't plan to go too far, just far enough to circle this mass here. I doubt we'll go more than a few feet."

The other female nodded and cautiously stepped off of the path behind her, "Well… Alright. If you're sure." She waded through the snow, her long dress getting caught up a bit, and Seven smiled a bit in amusement before leading her into the woods. This was certainly becoming an odd dream. Especially when she realized that the thicket of candy cane trees she was trying to avoid was not ending. Even stranger, there was an especially sweet smell in the air, and not merely peppermint as before.

A few minutes farther and she noticed that another one of her senses were beginning to catch something. Her audio receptors listened closer and she could clearly hear a banging noise nearby. "What is that?" She murmured to herself. Sugarplum still shrugged innocently as though she thought Seven was speaking to her exclusively. Seven started to head in the direction of the banging and knew that whatever it was couldn't be good. She weaved through the candy trees, ducking under the branches until it opened into a meadow of snow. That was where she saw the source of the banging noise.

There stood what looked like a large, Gingerbread house that was incredibly decadent. There were wafer thin peppermints lining as shingles being held on by icing, which was more cream colored than the snow. The door and shutters were made of chocolate, the door having a small diamond shaped window and a gumdrop door knob. There was a small porch that was held up by two small candy cane trees that were somehow manipulated to climb to the roof and hold it tight. Out of a graham cracker chimney came small puffs of smoke.

It would have been breathtaking if not for the dangerous threat before it. A lone rat, dressed in rusty, metal armor pounded at the door, trying to break it in. Instead of being fearful, Seven realized that there was clearly someone inside in danger, and didn't want another person to be killed. She rushed forward, Sugarplum trying and failing to hold her back, and braced herself for a surprise attack. Seven didn't know too much about fighting so she mostly deduced what she wanted to and used her natural swiftness to attack.

She jumped upwards and landed upon the clockwork Rat's back. It immediately reared up and the female impaled the letter sharpener downwards into its shoulder. It shrieked and spun around, tossing the Stitchpunk off and throwing her onto the snow. She rolled a few times but managed to stagger to her feet as the vicious rat pulled out a knife and gained on her. It stabbed at her and she whipped the spear around, forcing the knife to the side, before kicking it in the leg. It staggered and she brought the letter opener forward, into the Rat's side between a gap in its armor.

It shrieked again and lashed out, shoving her back, and she managed to regain footing. It leapt at her and she managed to somewhat duck out of the way and bring the back end of the letter opener down on its head. After a few hits, it was unconscious, but she doubted that she managed to actually put it completely down. She looked over to Sugarplum who had her sleeve draped hands over her mouth in a mix of shock and concern. She approached cautiously, "I'll… I'll make sure he won't come after us."

She kneeled down beside the Rat and reached behind herself. Seven now noticed a spool of thread attached to her dress and what looked like scissors under it. She pulled some thread loose and began to use her needle fingers to sew the Rat into complete submission. The action made Seven feel a bit unease and she approached the Gingerbread house and knocked upon the front door, "The Rat is no longer a threat and you are safe. Is everyone alright in there?" There was a second without any response before the door opened and a voice spoke, "Come in."

It was another female's voice, but older as though she wasn't as young as Seven. The female stepped inside and was now officially in awe. The outside had only looked like a single room could fit in the building with a small loft, but inside it looked more like a mansion. It still kept its candy look, but it was warm and extremely detailed, with the warmth coming from a large, open fireplace in the center of the room. Looking towards the voice Seven saw an incredibly tall woman who looked more like a wooden doll with a painted face that still managed to morph into expression.

Her hand ended in points without fingers and she wore a bell shaped skirt that was very wide and almost taller than Seven herself. She had a gray bun of hair carved from wood as well and looked styled to be an older woman. The wooden doll smiled, "Thank you. That brute has been at my door since the armies passed this morning. He couldn't get in, but he would not have left." Seven couldn't say she wasn't feeling a little meek from having the woman towering over her, "It was no trouble. I'm not too familiar with the Rats, but they are clearly a threat. I'm Seven."

Her companion now entered and she gestured to her, "This is Sugarplum." The Doll curtsied and the woman gave a small bow. "It is a pleasure to meet someone who isn't a Rat. Since they have overtaken I haven't seen another normal person at all!" Seven blinked, "Overtaken-?" The woman introduced herself, ignoring Seven's inquiries, "I am Mother Ginger." She lifted her skirts, "And these are my children." The two girls were suddenly swarmed by a group of waist tall Gingerbread children. There were eight boys and two younger ones that only went to her knees that looked like girls.

"They're quite adorable." Sugarplum praised and bent over to pat the head of one of the boys. His icing smile widened and pink icing seemed to appear like a blush on his cheeks. Seven enjoyed the display, but knew there was still danger afoot. "Mother Ginger," She shut the door and addressed the lock that was oddly made of peppermint brittle, which she realized then matched the floor, "About the Rats, they've taken over?" Sugarplum would have gone pale if she could and Mother Ginger ushered them towards the fire.

"Please… Come get warm and I will explain." Soon she was sitting on a plush sofa beside Sugarplum while Mother Ginger sat in a grand rocking chair. Her children sat around her on the rug that was sprawled before the fire. Seven assumed it was also some sort of weaved candy, but wasn't exactly sure. "The war between our wonderful kingdom and the Rats had gone on for years. Not once have the Rats been able to actually overtake our land. They were always fought away and sent onwards, every time they attempted to enter the 'other world', but now…"

She shook her head sadly, "Now they've won and we're finished. When given the chance, we merely drive the Rats away, but they take our people away and do something to them. Nobody who is taken away returns…" Seven wondered exactly how much time had passed between the fight and her actually entering this world. Staring at the rug she exhaled calmly, "If I could take one…" Sugarplum inhale lightly and covered her mouth, "You aren't planning to-? Oh no, Seven, I'll help you get home, but there are too many Rats for you to take on alone!"

"I only saw about ten." Seven voiced and Ginger Mother scoffed, "Must have been a small army. Rats are known to, well, breed extensively." Seven retorted softly, "Sounds like One and Two after a bit too much wine." Seeing the confused looks of the others she coughed dismissively, "Well, umm, anyway. What about the King of Rats?" The Ginger Mother rocked on her chair, "Not a soul has ever see him." Seven looked to Sugarplum for reassurance and received a small nod.

"I saw a large rat that I thought was the king." Seven explained, "Could that have been possible?" Sugarplum shrugged, "Perhaps. I'm sure he's unpleasant." Seven nodded in agreement and Mother Ginger spoke, "Let me at least give you something for your help." She stood, "Give me a bit to bake it." Then she left and Seven blinked, "Did she just say 'bake' it?" The other giggled a bit, but was obviously disturbed about Seven earlier comment about going to stop the Rats.

"Seven," Sugarplum took ahold of the female's arm in worry, "How do you plan to fight all of the rats? There must be hundreds of them…" Seven had already came up with a plan, "If I can get the King to submit then the Rats will be forced to surrender as well. All I have to do is… Is figure out where the King is." Sugarplum smiled reassuringly, "Oh, I'm sure that's not too hard. If they've overtook the kingdom then he'll probably be in the castle." This was actually a good point, but before they could continue, Mother Ginger appeared.

"This may be able to help you on you travels." She showed her what looked like a brown bird skull and Seven looked it over. She realized that, not only was it a helmet, but it was made out of gingerbread. Thankfully, though, it was as hard as a rock and she tried to fit it on. It fit perfectly. Mother Ginger also handed over arm guards and what looked like a vest to guard the chest. Seven put on the arm bracers and Sugarplum helped her put on the vest, "Wouldn't want any of your pretty fabric getting torn." She chirped caringly.

Now Seven was a bit more protected from the harsh environments outside and Mother Ginger spoke, "Please stop the Rats. I am not sure where our prince is, but we desperately need a hero, and you are a good enough Warrior that you may have a chance." Seven only hoped that her assumption was correct and the two exited the home and into the cold world outside. Sugarplum shivered and pulled a hood over her red, yarn hair. "It's rather cold out."

Seven nodded a bit before pulling the helmet down in an attempt to keep warm. "Do you know which way to the Castle?" The Doll looked around, "Umm, let's see… The sun rises in the north and sets in the south, and the sun is… Behind the clouds. Hmm…" she thought for a few seconds before pointing out, "I'm pretty sure it's this way." Seven raised her brow, "Sure?" The Doll nodded with a confident smile so the Warrior nodded, "Alright, let's go then."

Seven trusted Sugarplum a bit more than she probably needed to as after quite some time of walking they were not yet at the castle. However, the Candy Cane forest eventually opened again to the sound of rushing water. Sugarplum seemed especially interested in this and explained why, "I know that there's a port nearly a pebble's throw from the Kingdom. Maybe if we follow the sound it will lead us to a river that will lead to the bay." Seven followed along and they soon found the stream.

It wasn't water and instead ran with cool Apple cider. Seven couldn't say that she didn't expect it and they followed along the running cider towards the bay. When Sugarplum said 'bay', Seven expected to see the other side, but it looked almost like the ocean itself. She wouldn't let her optics deceive her, though. "It looks farther than I expected. Any idea how far?" Sugarplum was heading along the shore, "Only a few miles. The clouds look worse, so maybe that is why we can't see." She answered in a quiet voice before calling back with a wide small, "Come on, Miss Molasses! It looks like there's a few houses up there!"

She wanted to correct her; they were shacks, not houses, but instead simply ran after her before wandering up to a small fishing village. There was only about five of the shacks and the people walking around were looking a bit disheartened. Obviously they were disturbed about the Rats, that seemed most likely, and she looked around. There was a rotting sign above the nearby road that said 'Lutefisk Fishing Point' but it looked to be quite forgotten. Seven knew where it go the name though, as the Village smelled strong of fish and lutefisk.

The people were dolls as well, but made of straw, with wooden heads. They all looked in poor condition and Seven was disturbed at this. Before she could ask, Sugarplum approached again, "There's a place over there where they rent boats. Maybe we can tell them that we're going to the Castle to stop the Rats." She suggested, but Seven was hesitant, though decided that it wouldn't hurt to try. As she followed after the other she spoke up, "What happened to the Nutcracker?" The female blinked before turning around, "Who?"

"The Nutcracker. He was in the battle with the Rats." Seven explained and the other seemed utterly confused, "Goodness, I've never heard of a Nutcracker before. I hope he's okay." Seven felt unnerved by the thought of the missing Nutcracker, but reluctantly put up with it and entered the boat rental. The Straw Doll at the counter looked even more poor and unfortunate than the others. His head was drooped and he looked up at the customers with little hope, "Welcome to Tight Cap's boat house. May I help you?"

"Yes. We need to get to the Castle and, apparently, it's on the other side of the bay. We could also use a guide." The Straw Doll, perhaps Tight Cap, sighed halfheartedly, "I don't think you're going to find a guide anytime soon. Not with the Rats." The Warrior perked and became interested, "Have the Rats been giving you trouble?" Tight Cap sighed, "It wouldn't matter if they did. We haven't caught anything in months." He exhaled and Seven looked to Sugarplum who shrugged.

"Alright… Well then we'll have to make do with what we have. Can we borrow a boat?" Tight Cap sat up quickly, "That will be thirteen Pinches." Seven blinked in confusion and Sugarplum looked at the counter shyly, "Well, Sir, that's awfully high. But maybe we could do something else. We could bring something back from the Kingdom for you." That somewhat positive looked dropped again for the straw doll and Seven was near exasperation as it droned, "We've already lost too much to give away our things."

"That's fine." Seven answered before turning to Sugarplum, "He's not willing to barter so we should just find another way." Honestly, she didn't really want to deal with Tight Cap any more. He clearly wasn't going to be persuaded unless he had money. Sugarplum nodded and turned to Seven, looking concerned, "You're right… What are we going to do? _The Prince will be furious when we learns that we're late." _Seven blinked in confusion, "What?"

Sugarplum covered her face in distress, "To think that he called upon _us _and then we were stuck _here_. He'll certainly come to find us and I doubt he'll be pleased." Now Seven caught on; Sugarplum was putting on a show for Tight Cap who was now staring in alarm. Seven added in, "It's not your fault. He'll know you tired your best and will take that in mind." She insisted and looked to Tight Cap to see his self-pitying look drop and him perk, "Wait, wait. I didn't'- ah- realize how serious this was."

He nodded, "Alright, alright. Maybe we can go through with the trade. We haven't been able to get any exports from the Kingdom since the Rats interfered. They eat everything." Sugarplum brightened rather quickly, "Thank you very much. We are certainly in your debt." Soon Seven found herself helping Tight Cap lower the boat into the water. Unfortunately, it was no more than a rowboat, but Seven accepted this and the paddles before setting off across the bay.

Unfortunately again, Sugarplum failed to mention that she was a pitiful rower, so Seven found herself doing the work as the other merely watched for land. The boat trip took another sharp turn for the worst when cotton candy clouds opened and down poured with rainwater. Seven wasn't sure what it was as, oddly enough, it wasn't Cider, but it was certainly sweet still. The raindrops themselves also looked shaded in multiple colors and dripped upon her optics lens and cast a rainbow of vibrant shades.

They eventually did pass over the bay, but the clouds grew thicker and the sky grew darker as they pulled up onto the other shore. The shoreline was merely a rocky cliff that was lined with a thick sludge that reminded Seven of cranberry sauce. They pulled the boat in enough that it wouldn't drift away and Sugarplum used thread to tie it to a few large rocks. Then the climbed the small Cliffside to approach the Kingdom. The plan soon took another detour the second that Seven managed to get onto the cliff.

The entire area was cleared to be farmland and this was obviously the area outside the Kingdom which was used to cultivate food for said Kingdom. It was in obvious distress from the rats running about. There had to be twenty pillaging through the farmland, grapping up soft Pumpkins and Marzipan pigs that oinked in disturbance before heading down the taffy road that looked wide enough, and well maintained enough, that she correctly assumed that it lead to the Kingdom. Though her view was currently blocked by a large overseer Rat who she recognized as the one who fought the Nutcracker.

This meant that it couldn't be the king. No king would come out and oversee scavenging work. It had to be a high ranked soldier instead. Every time a Rat left another took its place as they broke into barns made of sugar wafers and snatched both animals and supplies. The rain was coming down worse as well and the dirt reeked of it. It was so sweet that it actually made Seven's head spin, or maybe that was merely the alarm of what she got herself into.

There was a small tug on her ankle and she looked down to realize that Sugarplum was still dangling off the cliff and having trouble pulling herself up. Seven pulled her up and ushered them both behind a low wall that looked to be made of crystal. It was soon addressed to be rock candy from its dark purple color and smelled just as sweet, which was now beginning to turn Seven's insides from the overly sugary scent. "We'll have to take them out one at a time, I guess. It would be impossible to take them all at once."

Seven started out into the surroundings and went close to a nearby barn, looking back and beckoning at Sugarplum to lie low, which she did. Seven let her letter opener point out and swung it around, eventually hearing the footsteps of a curious Rat and, thankfully, only one of them. The second he circled she leapt upon his back and tightly pressed her letter opener's length across his throat. It seemed simple enough; will him into unconsciousness and then have Sugarplum sew him into submission. He struggled, hitting the wall once, clutched at his throat, but her weight was just enough to put him down.

This didn't work as well when the back of her vest was grabbed and she was flung off of the unconscious rat. Seven rolled in the snow and stood to her feet to see that another large Rat lingered behind her, this one holding what looked like a large Warhammer. She gaped and managed to roll back to dodge a vicious swing. The Rat wasn't planning to go easy on her. Thankfully, she managed to get her letter opener up. When he swung again, she leapt forward and managed to somewhat climb his body over his shoulder, stabbing her spear like weapon into his back.

It reared up and bellowed, causing her to gasp and realize that now the others knew. Another started to dash upwards as the one she had stabbed faltered. Not dead, but injured enough that it collapsed. She knew this was a weak spot and turned against the third who was fighting with nothing but sharp claws. It slashed at her and she dusked back, catching the ground with her hand and pushing herself back up fast enough to twist around and stab her letter opener into the Rat.

A strike hit its armor, slid off, and managed to somehow get lodged in the open patch of softer cloth or perhaps fur, odd considering that the head and arms were metal. When she pulled back, the flesh tore like fabric but nothing could be seen inside. Almost like it was hollow and the Rat griped its side. Seven swung the letter opener and struck the brute in the head with the butt end. She wasn't a murderer, she much preferred to put it down then to actually kill, and so far it seemed like her methods had been working.

The Rat fell over and Seven went to hit it again when she heard noises behind and spun around. Another Rat bringing down a knife. This time, Seven didn't have time to stop it, but thankfully somebody else did. Sugarplum leapt before Seven and caught the knife with what the Warrior could see was the pair of scissors from before. She shoved the knife upwards and then bluntly stabbed the Rat in the front. It stumbled back and she ripped her weapon back out. Back to back, the two were prepared, which was for the better as there were more Rats appearing.

Seven raised her letter opener high and rushed forward towards the closest one. She dropped down, sliding through the thick muck of the ground, and impaling into its body. Sugarplum also went at another Rat and they were fighting in sync. Occasionally they would touch or work around each other, but spent most of the time defending each other's backs. Their progress was going remarkably until a loud, grating voice spoke up. Seven realized that the voice speaking up stopped any onslaught of the Rats.

"Pull back and release the Cat." Seven blinked at this and watched as the Rats back off, some murmuring words of recognition. "I think…" Sugarplum murmured, "They've been waiting for you." This was almost as disturbing as the sudden sound that filled the area, the sound of a metallic roar, and Seven back as she stared into the foggy surroundings, rain obscuring her vision. "Sugarplum, get into that barn." The other female was alarmed at the command, "What?!" Seven could hear a growing noise that sounded like a motor in the distance, a purring horror, and turned toward the other, "Barn, now!"

The command managed to trigger the female who dashed into the barn, tripping inside and hiding back in the stall, hiding in a batch of sugar cane shavings that was used as bedding for the animals. She watched the doorway as she watched a nearby marzipan chicken scuttle around in distress. She pulled her knees to her chest and listened close. Meanwhile, Seven was alone, and stood there firm as it approached. She heard it and saw a hot flash of breath billowing from its mouth before she saw the sharp fangs and finally the Beast itself.

Bones and metal, indescribably mismatched into a horrific monster, but it was definitely a Cat and it was certainly a threat. It stood over the bird Warrior and growled down upon her. Then she raised her spear and prepared for battle. What came after that, to Sugarplum, was gruesome. She heard every thud as it batted the Stitchpunk's body about the ground outside. Every time Seven was slammed down the claw she felt it. Every time Seven accidently got a mouthful of mud she tasted it. It was terrible and she trembled in the barn waiting for the other to appear.

Nothing worked on the Cat Beast, it didn't allow her any openings and didn't feel any pity, it beat and battered her body around like it was worthless. Sugarplum heard her cry out in pain and crept forward to stare out of the doorway. There was scuffling and other noises, particularly loud noises from the Cat Beast itself, but nothing more. Then, suddenly, there was a noise as something dropped behind her into the barn. Sugarplum gasped and was met with a soft voice, "It's okay. It's me."

The Doll was thrilled to see the Stitchpunk but soon noticed how she looked, roughed up and clearly injured. "Oh Seven." She murmured sadly and the Warrior raised a hand in dismissal. "It's still there." She wouldn't have backed down but was forced to after the Cat Beast had actually managed to gouge at her. The back of the vest had fallen apart and she knew she'd have to repair it somehow. She backed against the wall as she heard the Cat Beast prowl by outside. Once it was out of audio receptor range she turned to the side.

"How bad does it look?" He response was Sugarplum letting out an 'eep' noise and covering her mouth. This was not a good sign and Seven pushed her helmet up tiredly. Her hands were shaken, she was soaked, and now she was actually injured. "It's okay." Sugarplum suddenly insisted, sliding forward, "Here, I can patch it up." The other touched the wound and Seven gasped in pain. She hadn't recognized the pain during the hit and only knew it now when the adrenaline wore out. She watched as the other ripped a piece from her own dress and began to cut it with her scissors.

Seven waited, breathing calmly. Suddenly she wished she was back home in her bed with nothing except the knowledge that tomorrow she'd be helping Twenty-One unwrap his presents. Christmas with One and Two, One acting lenient for once and Two being playful like usual. Instead she was in a battle that she didn't want to be in trying to find a Nutcracker for questionable reasons, being attacked by large Rats, not to mention a Cat, and now having sharp fingers sew a strange piece of fabric into her back.

She clenched her fists tightly and waited for it to happen. A few minutes passed until the Doll stopped, "It's done, Dear. It's all over." Only then did Seven realize she had been shaking and somewhat dry sobbing. Not making noises, but trembling certainly, and she didn't know why. Seven always saw herself as a strong woman, but upon facing the Beast she came down to Earth and impacted into the ground hard. She suddenly realized she was no Warrior. She dropped her head down and rubbed her temples as she tried to suppress her chokes.

"Don't worry, you didn't lose your seven." Sugarplum rubbed her upper arms in a gentle motion to soothe her. Eventually Seven managed to calm herself and forced herself to straighten. "The Cat's gone and the Rats think that it has ahold of us. We need to continue along and get to the castle. While they don't suspect anything." She started to stand, her back protesting, and nearly stumbled over the same Marzipan chicken that was clucking in panic. Sugarplum tried to stop her, "You should let the stitches set in and rest."

Seven forced a small smile, "No, really, I'm okay." She really didn't want to stop, she didn't want to sit in quietness and wait for nothing. The deed was already down and she was sure that she'd feel better about it if she could prove that she was fine to herself. Or, at least, still able to work correctly. She stepped out into the rain. It was lighter now, but still starting to grow a bit dark. She managed to spot her Letter Opener quickly and went to get it, finding that she was having a bit of difficulty bending over.

Sugarplum snatched it up and handed it over instead of allowing her to bend over. Then the two continued down the taffy road towards the Kingdom. They didn't have to go long before they actually caught sight of the Kingdom itself and again this mysterious world did not disappoint. The Kingdom did not stretch before them, but instead towered before them, growing into the sky. Wood and brick were built in a spiral with bright and colorful candy houses and some large trees jutted out in any little gap. Like an overstuffed Christmas tree.

At the very top of the spiral sat the castle like a glowing star. Even with clear damage, holes in the walls from when the rats overtook, it still was a radiant gold that seemed to shimmer down upon the town. "Creator…" Seven murmured at the sight and was followed by a blunt question, "How are we going to get there without them seeing us?" It wasn't simply to Sugarplum, it was a question to them both, and was soon answered when Seven noticed an odd fact, "I thought the Rats were in the Kingdom?" She asked and Sugarplum shrugged.

"They should be. Maybe they're down in the castle." Seven blinked; down in the castle opposed to up in the castle. She pieced part of it together, "The Castle is so small… That they built down into the mountain?" The Doll nodded and she herself was confident, "That makes enough sense. Rats like darkness, it seems that they would want to stay out here if they could go in there." As stated, this meant perhaps that the rest of the spiral, or at least the roads that weren't being used to move goods.

The only reason that Seven thought the Rats pulled back was because they feared the Cat Beast, even having it under their watch, so she knew that the pillaging was probably going to continue. There couldn't be only a small group of barns to supply a city of this size. Upon entering the gates Seven managed to spot and dive into a small ally before any of the Rats saw her. Her companion followed suite and they began to take the back roads through the winding city.

Windows had cracked sugar glass that revealed, occasionally, a cowering family inside, but most of the citizens were gone. Licorice lamps hung dainty about the streets, but most were unlit, no warm fire to guide their way as they slowly made it between graham cracker and chocolate houses, plastered together with thin marshmallow. The Rats, though, took advantage of this. For a land devoted to sweets, they ripped pieces of the walls apart and carried them back towards the castle. For what wasn't sure, but Seven suspected the worst when she remembered Tight Cap mentioning devouring.

She didn't want to ask Sugarplum if any of the beings in this world were made out of candy. With Mother Ginger's brood of Gingerbread Children and the Marzipan animals, there was no doubt that some of the creatures had to be made of candy. The walk to the castle was grueling and constantly brought to a complete halt when Rats rushed by or something. They actually witnessed, near the castle, a Rat kick in a home and drag out the inhabitants. As expected, they were made of types of candy, most being made out of a mix of pretzels and more Marzipan.

They were dragged away screaming and Seven wanted to help them. However, she knew that getting to the King was the only way of doing this. They finally got to the castle gates and stepped inside. It only remained some of its former glory. From what it looked like, it used to be elegant, with flowing carpets of weaved sugar tufts, walls that were bathed in a golden glow and smelled of peanuts, such as peanut brittle. However, the entranceway also dropped into horror. There was a winding stairwell downward with a lift in the center, both occupied by hundreds of Rats carrying walls and pigs, people and candy, down into the depths.

The smell was atrocious. Something down farther than Seven could see smelled absolutely foul and she covered her scent receptor and mouth in disgust. Either it didn't bother Sugarplum or she was too focused that she wasn't thinking about it, but the female tapped Seven's shoulder. "If there was only a way we could get into the lift. We could hurry down before they could stop us." Seven agreed and before the other could say a thing, she watched in surprise as Seven dashed forward. She must have been simply tired of wasting time and quickly struck the only Rat in their way over the head.

He merely stumbled with a hiss, but it was enough for them to get into the lift. Sugarplum began to wrap through the handles on the inside of the lift while Seven addressed the crank. It was closed in, thankfully, so once Sugarplum wrapped it up well enough it seemed like they were secure. The Rats could claw at the glass walls as much as they wanted to, but couldn't get in. There was one major flaw that Seven never put together. She never actually never thought the Rats were willing to do what occurred next. There was a snap before suddenly the lift fell.

A few seconds passed where Seven was merely suspended when suddenly they smashed into the landing. The glass shattered on impact and the lift fell apart. Seven didn't know how she was still alive and attempted to drag herself from the wreckage only to have large, clawed hands upon her, dragging her out. Her vision was askew and she struggled helplessly across the dirtied, cement floor beneath her. There were bits of food remnants, cookie crumbs and broken pieces of peppermint that scraped up her legs as she was dragged before being dropped.

Why the Rat would randomly drop her was unknown but the smell wafting around was absolutely horrible. She coughed at that and the abundance of heat circling her body. The vest that was previously repaired by Sugarplum now fell completely apart and was worthless. It hung upon her body only by the few parts that still hung together. She pushed herself up before hearing a squeak from nearby. Looking back, she could see another Rat carrying Sugarplum. 'Carrying' was too kindly for it; he was dragging her by the back of her dress, but was tall enough that it forced her to dangle a bit.

"Let her go!" Seven demanded, managing to shake off her injuries well enough. In response, Sugarplum was dropped to the floor, landing with a soft noise of disturbance. There was this lingering chuckle before Seven and she suddenly realized that there was someone before her. Maybe she knew it the entire time and was merely in denial and didn't want to look forward. She had to give in and stood up, straightening herself, and faced what was ahead. As expected, it was the source of the rotten stench, and it was disgusting.

The Rat King was no more than a massive stretch of matted fur. Unlike the others, it wasn't clockwork, it was a real, gnarled Rat. With flesh, fur, and long, yellowed teeth. Its entire belly and abdomen swelled into the castle behind him. All that was visible from here was gnarled paws with sharp nails, its fattened head, and a bowl before it that was above a fire pit that was dug into the floor. In the huge bowl, or cauldron, was a boiling pit of either water or oil. Even as he stared down at Seven he reached to the side and was handed an offering from another Rat.

He was handed a Marzipan pig which he dipped into the oil. Seven closed her optics, but didn't give him the satisfaction of a flinch, merely a disgusting look. Sugarplum wasn't nearly as discreet when she covered her face with her sleeves. The Warrior couldn't boost the glutton's ego, she refused to. "You really must try the sweet pork." The King Rat suggested, eating the small pig whole, "Especially fried. Everything tastes better fried." Seven only as glad that the Pig had already looked deceased before being put through such torment and becoming another lump upon the Rat's frame.

"I think I may have lost my appetite for sweets." Seven retorted and the King snorted, "Nobody loses their appetite. They merely suppress it. For another indulgent, perhaps? Perhaps her?" he gestured to Sugarplum whose optics widened. "Perhaps not." Seven chimed in, "You smell turned me away long before I even got down here." Another mocking roll of laughter, "And what are you doing down here? Coming for your Prince? Well there he is." His hand, which could barely move, flicked towards the far wall and Seven's optics darted over. Now there was an obvious gasp of alarm from both females.

There was the Prince, suspended to the wall, but Seven soon recognized it as none other than the Nutcracker. He was the prince and she knew she should have known. She looked back to the King Rat, clearly furious, and watched as he fried and ate what looked like the remains of someone's chocolate chimney. She shivered at the scene and raised her letter opener, never once releasing it, even in the lift falling. "You are eating the entire world. For what? Just to get bigger? Just to take up more space than you already are?" She demanded and he smiled with wide, yellow teeth.

"Indulgence. Since you have come this far then I assume that you deserve to know. After years of starving in our land we, my fellow Rats and I, decided that we were tired of not being allowed to have all we wanted. This world of decadence was arrogant in its mere existence, so we responded, and then the feeding began. It is the only thing that is worth living for, to take the energy, the feel, and the taste. Everything tastes delicious whether it is a Prince, a commoner, or merely a pale, little doll." Seven caught the reference and raised her spear, "I am not edible."

He grinned and began to reach forward, "Death is the ultimate equalizer. All have the right to be eaten." Before he could make it to her, his hand was impaled with a thrown pair of scissors, compliments of Sugarplum. He screeched and she used the thread wrapped tightly around the handles to pull it back, "It seems to me, Your Majesty, that you have had quite enough already." He growled and bared his fangs before pausing at a rumbling above. Another Rat called, "The Cat Beast is in the palace!" The rat King hissed, "All of you slackers handle that bag of bones. Leave these morsels for me and me alone."

The Rats complied and Seven waited for the Rat King to attack. His tactics were simple, to crush her as he flung his hand forward to catch her with. She rolled back out of the way, then again as the claw slid as far as it could towards her. She dashed to circle the grasp and ran as fast as possible towards the bowl of oil. She wasn't very sure, but she had a quick thinking idea, and hoped it would work. She paused a good few feet from the bowl and braced herself for his claw to rear up. The second it did, she ran as fast as possible, knowing one miscalculation could end her life.

She leapt and managed to somehow clear the bowl, nearly falling into the fire around it, but instead rolling into the clear on the other side. As expected, the Rat could talk fine, but was not nearly as smart as he sounded, and slammed his hand on the edge of the bowl, causing oil to pour onto his hand and even triggering the fire to grow in size when the oil touched it. The Rat nearly rolled, "You filthy, little rag!" he lashed at her before physically going at her, bringing his other hand down. She, in return, aimed her letter opener upwards so that his hand landed right upon in.

He roared and Sugarplum noticed how the walls seemed to rattle from this and the dispute above them in the castle. They had to hurry and leave, because she feared that all of the adjustments the Rats made to the castle were about to cave in on them, literally. She threw the scissors again and got ahold of the burned paw, somewhat holding it still as Seven ducked under the thread and stabbed her spear into its depths. The quicker the Rat King's means of attack were taken down, the quicker he would be forced into submission.

Sugarplum ripped the scissors back and spun, using the proportion to throw it into the other, less injured paw. This time the King was waiting and caught ahold of it, he tugged back and started to reel her in. Horror passed Sugarplum's face as the spools of thread began to unweave. She pulled back, the Rat pulled back, Seven rushed over and tried to cut the thread. For some reason the thread wouldn't cut and she assumed that maybe the scissors were what was needed, but right now they were not an option. The King Rat cast aside the bowl of oil, spilling it everywhere, and lunged forward.

Sugarplum screamed in horror, "Oh Creator no!" Seven jumped before her and tried to saw the thread. The Rat King's mouth opened and rows of teeth came at them. Seven didn't know how to react, and desperately tried to cause him to back off in the only way she knew. She ripped off one of her arm bracers and threw it into the Rat's mouth, hoping it would do something. Instead, though, something else happened. The Rat King was more than willing to swallow anything, but a gingerbread arm brace, almost as hard as stone, seemed to lodge in his throat.

He reared back and began to choke, thrashing around and slamming against the walls. Seven managed to wrestle the spools and unwind their grasp on her companion before throwing it to the side. However, the Rat's reign was destined to end. All it took was him rearing back and striking the ceiling to seal his fate. The ceiling trembled and collapsed in, a few Rats from above falling in with a mess of peanut brittle walls and marble floors. Seven shoved Sugarplum back out of the way before diving. Some rubble did fall upon her, but she did manage to stand her ground once again.

She soon found Sugarplum sobbing over her letter opener, thinking she as dead, and was forced to grin and bear the pain when she was hugged too tightly for her injured back to ignore. Then, suddenly, there was another voice. "You saved us." Seven jumped back in alarm and looked over to see someone strangely familiar yet completely unknown. He was a wooden doll that looked remarkably like a Stitchpunk, dressed in fine robes, and Seven realized that he was the Prince. Or, technically, the Nutcracker who was now freed.

It seemed different kind of dolls, hundreds of them, began to pour out of the woodwork and praised the Warrior. Tin Soldiers were appearing, the same ones she swore were destroyed, and the Prince announced, "The Kingdom is ours once again!" Then, with that, the castle started to shift, and Seven watched in awe as the rat King's body disappeared into nothing and the castle began to regain shape. The Soldiers ran the last of Rats out of the castle while the rat's nest turned into an elegant ballroom.

"I cannot thank you enough." The Prince swooned, coming closer and taking Seven's hand, "My Kingdom, my subjects, and I are all in your debt." Seven was taken aback by ho warm he was being and, with the praise, felt slight sheepish under all of the sets of optics now resting upon her. "It was not by my actions alone." She insisted and he nodded, "No, you had a little help, but you are still our hero. We shall have a celebration in your honor, but first, I insist you get some respite. You have already done so much that you must be weary."

Seven nodded, not answering much to the compliments as they made her feel slightly uncomfortable. A few wooden dolls painted in radiant colors and dressed as servants escorted her out of the room, before she could even say a thing, but she was so tired that she agreed. It seemed like only minutes after she had fought the Rat she was taken into a guest room, left alone, and finally allowed to rest. She collapsed upon the bed, recognizing the smell and touch being sponge cake, but didn't make an effort to pull any of the blankets over her. She just laid there in exhaustion.

Now she allowed herself to ponder what was next; whether she would be able to return home or if she was destined to stay here. She collapsed her head against a pillow made of powdered donut, soft and somewhat dusty, but smelled fresh. The curtains around the bed were powder blue spun sugar; the entire room was in the same color. Lovely and candy coated, like this entire world, and suddenly Seven toyed with the idea if staying here was so wrong. This was technically paradise by anyone else's standards. It also promised the adventure that she missed normally.

This would mean that she couldn't return to One, Two, Twenty-One, or Julius though. Her family who she loved; she wasn't sure she could sacrifice them. That's when the double doors suddenly opened and she began to sit up only to see Sugarplum, smiling pleasantly and carrying in some items with her. "Didn't mean to wake you." Seven smiled to her, "No, it's fine. Glad to see you, Stranger, I though you vanished." The Doll closed the door behind her, "I got a little pushed back by all the people. You're a hero."

"I'm not a hero." Seven insisted, "And if I was, wouldn't you be one too?" This seemed to take Sugarplum aback, "I don't think so. You did a lot more fighting than I did." She looked embarrassed at the comment so Seven didn't push it farther. She did sit on the bed though, "Could I get you measurements? The Prince asked me to make you a dress for this evening." Seven exhaled, "I was dodging this day." She remarked playfully and allowed the Seamstress to take her measurements. "A dress in that short of time?"

"The Prince insisted and I'm not planning to argue with him!" Sugarplum giggled a bit before getting a weird look. She was still smiling, but she almost looked forlorn. "Do you mind if I work in here while you rest? I won't be too loud." Seven nodded immediately, "Of course. Please do. I think I might feel better if I… If I'm not alone." She wouldn't admit that she was completely lonely, yet, or that she completely missed her family already, but she would admit that she felt uncomfortable being alone after so long with Sugarplum.

The female smiled wider at this and moved to a nearby desk to work. Not exactly big enough to be used to work with stitches, but did well enough. It was made of white chocolate and Seven hated to think of what would happen if the room got too warm. She then seemed to drift into unconsciousness. It felt like only a second later when she awoke to Sugarplum's nudging. "Seven, dear, they're waiting for you." The Warrior awoke with a start and forced herself up, "How long was I…?"

She stared in surprise at the completed dress at the foot of her bed and tried to figure out exactly how long she had slept. "They're all waiting for you." Sugarplum's soft voice suggested as she helped the other female take her armor off, "You know, perhaps you'll marry the Prince and become a queen. I could been your lady in waiting." She remarked with a playful tone and the other smiled a little, "I highly doubt that will come about. But, if it did, you would be the only one I'd be willing to trust."

"I'm glad." That tone again and Seven knew something was wrong. The other quickly brightened, "Well, let's get you ready then! The Prince invited everyone. Even Mother Ginger and Tight Cap will be there." Seven didn't exactly want to squeeze into another dress, but did so, watching as the white fabric billowed out around her. With the bell sleeves and stark white, she assumed she looked like a marshmallow, topped by a small, lacy head dress that resembled a crown. Suddenly One's Christmas parties were much less stressful.

She exited the room and was led by the nearly skipping Sugarplum down to the ballroom where the Prince soon whisked her to the side before announcing her presence. "Lady Seven, our heroine, has arrived." He said with great joy and she wished that she could disappear into the folds of her dress. It was almost as though she shut down and simply allowed him to guide her and sit her at a table. He clearly sat by her side and frequently gave her hand a reassuring pat to ease any nervousness. Oddly enough, it didn't seem to help, and Seven felt very uncomfortable.

That all changed once the festivities began. A group of six straw dolls, one actually being Tight Cap, carried in a large Christmas pudding and sat it in the center of the ball room. It was dressed with some sort of liquor and lit aflame; this apparently signaled the dancing to begin. There were many dancers as well. Wooden dolls with pointed feet pirouetted across the room before leaping into the air where they were caught by their male partners and were twirled around. Gingerbread men kicked up their legs as high as possible in a delightful dance. One acrobat danced with a long, flowing scarf.

It was absolutely breathtaking and Seven found herself clapping frequently. Soon the pudding was distributed out and was delicious. This was understandable coming from a land made strictly of Christmas decadents and candy. This didn't end the display. What looked like strawberries at first bloomed into short girls in ruby red skirts who danced in a row and in sync. Seven then noticed that the Prince was watching her with a sweet smile and tried to suppress whatever feeling she was feeling from it.

A few hours ticked by and the programs changed. Soon, multiple people who weren't dancers were dancing, including Sugarplum who seemed to be dancing in a circle to herself. Wine was distributed and Seven enjoyed a little, though held back when she remembered exactly what wine tended to do to One, and that was when the Prince spoke to her. "My Lady, we are forever in your debt." He insisted, looking fondly at her and cupping her hand. She shyly looked down, "Really, this is more than enough, I'm having a great time this evening."

She noticed that the others were dying down and listening in, as though they were waiting for something; save Sugarplum who Seven guessed either had too much wine to stay sober or not enough to stay sane. The look on her face as odd, though. She wasn't exactly smiling. Seven turned to the Prince who stood from his chair and kneeled down, "No, we must give you something, and this is the only way to repay our debt. At the stroke of Midnight you shall be my bride and Queen." Seven noticed she dropped the glass of wine, but didn't care enough to do anything with the purple stain now forming on her dress.

He had just proposed. She abruptly stood, "I- You Majesty, may I have some time to make my decision?" He smiled the same, kind smile. "But of course, my Lady! I will simply be awaiting your answer." Everyone was smiling like she had agreed, strangely enough, and she backed out. "I'll be right back. I left something in my room." Apparently nobody realized that she went nowhere near her room. Instead she searched and sought until she managed to get outside, stumbling out towards the front gates, staring down at the colorful lights of the city below.

Footsteps behind her caused her to spin around and come face to face with Sugarplum, now bluntly looking saddened, "You knew he was going to ask me." She quietly whispered, an accusation that was limper than anything, and the female nodded and began to play with a lock of red yarn. "He asked specifically for a wedding dress…" Then she looked up, "And I knew you'd say no." Seven turned away, "Sugarplum, you can't expect me to agree with it. To marry someone I met only a bit ago."

"Oh, no." Sugarplum admitted immediately, "I knew you wouldn't. I didn't want you to… But I do know that… I know that… That you probably are going to have to leave now." She was smarter than she looked because that was the exact thought on the Warrior's mind. Seven closed her optics in shame, "I'm sorry. I can't leave my family and I can't very well turn down his proposal. That leaves only one option." The Seamstress exhaled, "I understand…" She took Seven's hand, "I'll… I'll take you to the portal that should take you back to your world."

They walked slowly through the empty halls until they arrived at one that looked like a room of mirrors with a small control panel of levers and gears. Unlike everything else, nothing here was made of candy, and Seven discarded her dress while Sugarplum worked at the portal. "I think I got it." She murmured. Seven nodded solemnly before being ambushed by another embrace. This time, she returned it, and they held each other briefly. Seven could feel Sugarplum crying against her and forced a smile, "It'll be okay. Maybe we'll see each other again."

"Yeah." The other forced and pulled back, "The portal should be open longer. Maybe I can find a way through to visit you before it closes." Seven nodded, "Let's try for that. I know we haven't known each other long but, after all we've been through, you're definitely my closest friend." Sugarplum smiled wider, "And you're my only friend!" They sat there briefly before they pulled back and Seven stepped between the mirrors, "I guess… I guess this is it. Good bye."

"Goodbye Seven. I'll miss you." A bright light overtook as the level as pulled down. Seven's optics focused in and found herself slumped against the wall beside the Christmas tree, back home once again. Before her was Twenty-One looking confused and she straightened, "Twenty-One?" The little male was confused, "Why are you on the floor?" Seven blinked a bit and straightened herself, "I… Well… I must have fallen asleep last night when I was putting the Nutcracker under the tree."

Twenty-One looked back at the tree in confusion, seeing no Nutcracker, but at that point Two came in. "I thought you'd be halfway through those presents by now!" Noticing his sluggish movement, Seven assumed that it was morning and watched as Two looked at her, "Merry Christmas, Seven. I didn't hear you get up." Twenty-One lowered his voice, "She didn't, she slept under the tree." Two raised a stitched brow in concerned before Seven stood abruptly, "Ah- Merry Christmas, Two." Then began to seek out the Nutcracker. Like Twenty-One, she found nothing.

Maybe it had all been a crazy dream and she could only smile at the thought. An insane, crazy dream, but that was alright. She was with her family again and ready to celebrate Christmas. Though, to be safe, she'd be waiting up until Midnight tonight to see if Sugarplum actually went through with her plan. There was always a chance, especially with the odd pain in her back.

_**FIN**_

* * *

**Mable: Here's some fun facts and cameos! Firstly, the Nutcracker was inspired by the original Nutcracker, American McGee's Alice, and even Raggedy Ann and Andy; A musical Adventure, an absolutely bizarre movie.**

**The Rat King was a mix between the Walrus and the Greedy, but more evil, as both were somewhat created to be unable to stop themselves. While the Rat King is angled to merely devour out of a sense of revenge. As well, all of the creatures are somewhat Stitchpunk related or Beast related, and neither have to really eat. They instead eat for pleasure more so, though it is never outright stated if all of the doll kinds were the same. However, the Rat was purposely made to be a real Rat, so that the act of eating being such an obsessive pleasure may have begun as him being a starving Rat. Like in the play, or most adaptations of the Nutcracker, the Rat is stopped by a mere piece of clothing. Usually a shoe, but in this case an arm brace.**

**Stitchpunk versions of the Seamstress have been worked on by me for ages, but this was the first time I worked one into an actual story. Instead of being named 'Seams' or 'Stitches' as usually intended, I named her Sugarplum, to work in the reference towards the Sugarplum fairy. In this story she is a guide to Seven and a close friend. Sugarplum's character was made before the correlation with the Raggedy Ann movie, but after seeing it I find that the two are a bit similar, being quiet enough and kind. The line she makes towards the Rat king, 'quite enough', is a reference to a line Ann said to the Greedy. **

**You probably missed it, but at one point the Rat King made the following comment. "Nobody loses their appetite. They merely suppress it. For another indulgent, perhaps? Perhaps her?" Then gestured to Sugarplum. He was outright suggesting at this point that he believed the two were romantic, or that Seven was indulging in 'lust' with her.**

**Originally, Seven and Sugarplum were going to be joined by a tin soldier with a missing optic, being Five. Five and Sugarplum were going to be romantic. Instead I found it would be better for Seven and Sugarplum's friendship and companionship to be strengthened instead of adding a bunch of alternate allies with her. Besides, Seven seems social enough, but I also took her as one to prefer to do things on her own for whatever reason. So one companion makes more since then a bunch or none at all. **

**This is the first time I wrote Twenty-One as a child. I have written him as baby and young adult, but never child.**

**Merry Christmas everyone! Also, if you'd like, check out 'A Stitchpunk Christmas Carol', my other Christmas parody. I hope you all enjoyed!**


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